Karnataka crisis: Sadananda Gowda resigns, Jagadish Shettar is new CM

Karnataka crisis: Sadananda Gowda resigns, Jagadish Shettar is new CM
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New Delhi: It is official. BJP leader DV Sadananda Gowda has resigned from the post of Karnataka Chief Minister and BS Yeddyurappa loyalist and Lingayat leader Jagadish Shettar will replace him. BJP President Nitin Gadkari made the announcement after a party meeting on Sunday in the capital.

Making the announcement, Gadkari said, "Sadananda Gowda offered to resign for the larger good of the party. The party has accepted his resignation. The party has decided to make Jagadish Shettar the new Karnataka Chief Minister."

He added, "Sadananda Gowda has done a good job as Chief Minister for 11 months. There is no complaint against his work. Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh will be going to Bangalore tomorrow. There would be a state legislatures meet."

The announcement may have ended a long fought battle between Gowda and party strongman BS Yeddyurappa, whom he had replaced nearly an year ago.

Within months of Gowda taking over, ties between him and his predecessor had strained and Yeddyurappa, on numerous occasions, threatened to leave the party if Gowda was not replaced.

Yeddyurappa is believed to have proposed his loyalist and Lingayat leader Jagadish Shettar's name for the post. It is likely the BJP high command made its decision eyeing the powerful Lingayat votes in the state.

Meanwhile, Gowda has said that he would be loyal to the party "in the future also" and the new Chief Minister will be extended "all cooperation from me".

"My central leaders have taken a decision for change of leadership in Karnataka for political reasons... I will be loyal to the party in future also. The incoming CM will be given all cooperation from me," he said.

Sources say the BJP will likely send Sadanand Gowda to the Rajya Sabha.

They also say that KS Eshwarappa could be made the deputy chief minister of the state.

Gowda resigns, Shettar to be new Karnataka CM

Gowda resigns, Shettar to be new Karnataka CM 

PTI, New Delhi, July 08, 2012 

Karnataka rural development minister Jagadish Shettar, who is an aspirant for the post of chief minister of the state

Ending the political impasse in Karnataka, BJP on Sunday announced that chief minister Sadanand Gowda has submitted his resignation to the party and will be replaced by BS Yeddyurappa's loyalist Jagadish Shettar. The BJP high command bowed to Lingayat leader Yeddyurappa in view of the assembly elections due early next year and agreed to replace 59-year-old Gowda, a Vokkaliga leader, with rural development minister Shettar, 56, who is a Lingayat. 

"In view of the current political situation in Karnataka, Sadanand Gowda has handed over his resignation to me. In his tenure, he did work and the performance of our government was very good. "There were no complaints against him on grounds of corruption but keeping the party's interest in mind, as a good party worker, he has resigned in the interest of the organisation," BJP President Nitin Gadkari told reporters in New Delhi. He also announced that he has accepted Gowda's resignation on behalf of the party. "Our party has decided to hand over the leadership to Jagadish Shettar," Gadkari said. 

Senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley will go to Bengalore on Monday to oversee the formal election of Shettar as chief minister of Karnataka by the party MLAs. Asked if deputy chief ministers would also be appointed by the party as was reported earlier, Gadkari said no such decision has been taken on this issue. 

With the assembly elections just 10 months away, the BJP central leadership realised that to put up a "good show", it will have to fight under the leadership of Yeddyurappa, whom many see as the undisputed leader of the Lingayat community which has always voted for the party, BJP sources said.